Ten years left to save our planet

Harry
Marist College
Australia

We have reached the point where our natural resources can no longer meet the demands of our growing global population. We have reached the point where we are beginning to see that our actions are having a significant impact on our climate. We have reached the point where we can no longer take our environmental resources for granted. The future of humankind is hanging in the balance. Will we choose to fight this threat? What can we do now to change our society to make the world a cleaner, richer and fairer place by 2026?

It was around 200 years ago that society was first industrialised, yet only recently have scientists begun to realise that this also marked the beginning of the greenhouse gas emissions that now poison our atmosphere. Even as the population grew and grew, the environmental resources that sustained this population were still perceived as being limitless. There are now 6.3 billion people living in the world and that number shows little sign of slowing. In fact, by 2050, the global population may have risen to as much as nine to 12 billion. Our community and our national and global representatives have a responsibility to protect our environment and its natural resources, so as to sustain our exponentially growing population.

With population growth mainly occurring in developing countries, like India, Brazil and China, higher emission levels and pollution have resulted. By 2010, China is likely to be the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. There is also less water to go around. Since Asia's agricultural revolution, land under irrigation has tripled. There is also higher demand for power. India, for example, is planning to build eight 4000mw power plants. By investing in renewable resources, like solar and wind-powered energy, we can conserve our environment and protect it so that, if we act quickly, we can prevent climate change from worsening.

Prevention starts at a community level. There must be incentives for recycled water, water tanks, energy efficient appliances and sustainable energy sources so that ordinary families are encouraged to join the fight against climate change. But the reality is that these incentives are useless unless governments and global leaders also take similar preventative actions. The Australian Government's reluctance to fight against climate change undermines the efforts of the Australian people. Our leaders need to look beyond the next election and have the foresight to invest in solar and wind power, rather than coal or nuclear, and thus create a better, cleaner future.

In this age of urbanisation it is becoming easier and easier to avoid driving a car, as using public transport or simply walking are feasible alternatives. It is also possible to offset your carbon emissions, including your air travel. This enables you to actually see the emissions that you are putting into the atmosphere and 'neutralise' them by buying carbon credits. Even eating one less serving of red meat per week can save up to 300 kilograms of greenhouse pollution! This is because cows produce methane. Other ways include buying a triple 'A' showerhead, which saves up to 100,000 litres of water per year and recycling, which can save up to one tonne of carbon emissions. Turning off your appliances on standby reduces household energy consumption by 10 per cent. Our leaders need to give greater incentives to look after the environment. The value of our environment cannot be underestimated and neither can our power to influence it.

According to Professor Jeffery Sachs, 'the rise of Asia is altering the world's resources in an unpredictable way; for the first time humans, rather than nature, are shaping the environment'. This statement shows just how much power we have in controlling the fate of our world.

If we do not take on the responsibility that comes with this power then the effects are likely to be even worse than scientists had previously thought. Global warming is a huge problem that may spell disaster for millions of people. Disease, natural disasters and extreme weather conditions and the melting of the polar ice caps may sound like something out of a Hollywood movie, but it is not so far away. In fact, many of the effects of global warming are here right now. Average Arctic temperatures have almost doubled in the past 100 years and the ice has shrunk by 2.7 per cent each decade. It wouldn't take much more melting of the ice caps to drastically alter the shoreline, literally drowning small islands and encroaching on developed land in towns and cities.

While it would seem that humankind is doomed to be drowned by rising seas, to die of thirst due to a lack of fresh water, to be wiped out with disease and famine or suffocated from pollution and garbage, the truth is that there is still time. There is time to stand up and fight this Armageddon, to fight climate change and global warming, and to invest in renewable resources in order to support our rapidly growing population. But we have to act fast: it is predicted that within 10 years this time will have run out.

What will the world be like in 2026? It would seem that the future is almost as complicated as the past. Yet one thing is certain: climate change has emerged as the most pressing issue to face humankind and if we are not willing to make changes and sacrifices right now in our global and local community, then perhaps that future will never come.

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